The energy transition and the switch to more renewable energy lead to new challenges for the electrical grid. The electricity produced in the north and east of Germany has to be transported to the consumption centres farther south. In order to do this, the capacity of the high-voltage transmission grid has to be increased. As a result of the construction of a new, more powerful 380-kV overhead line between Röhrsdorf in Saxony and Weida and Remptendorf in Thuringia, the transfer capacity in the south of the 50Hertz control area should increase and the security of supply to companies and households should be ensured in these regions.

The existing 100 km-long 380-kV overhead line is currently operated at 2500 ampere per electrical circuit and should be upgraded to a current-carrying capacity of 3600 ampere in the future. This increases the transfer capacity by about 40 per cent. After the new line has been put into operation, the existing 380-kV line will be disassembled. In addition to the construction of the new line, the substations in Röhrsdorf, Weida and Remptendorf have to be prepared for the new overhead line.

The project was legally approved in the Federal Requirement Plan Act and designated as project no. 14. The authority that is competent for its approval is the Federal Network Agency located in Bonn.

The grid reinforcement project for the 380-kV high-voltage transmission line Röhrsdorf-Weida-Remptendorf is listed in the Federal Requirement Plan Act as project no. 14. As a project that spans several federated states, the responsibility for the approval procedure lies with the Federal Network Agency in Bonn.The project was first confirmed as a necessary measure as project P39 in the 2012 grid development plan for electricity (GDP) of the Federal Network Agency. The Federal Requirement Plan Act, which was decided in July 2013 and updated in December 2015, is based on the GDP for target year 2022.

As such, the necessity of the project for energy supply and the urgent need to guarantee secure and reliable grid operations has been laid down by law.

Line route

The existing 380-kV overhead line covers a distance of some 100 km. It starts at the Röhrsdorf substation near Chemnitz and continues over the Weida substation in the Greiz district until it reaches the Remptendorf substation in the Saale-Orla district. Currently, the line also crosses the districts of Zwickau, Altenburger Land and the city of Gera. The present route runs from east to south-west in a relatively straight line.

The areas near the overhead line are partially built-up. In rare occasions, the line spans both housing and commercial developments as well as allotment gardens. The latter mainly concerns the section between Röhrsdorf and Weida. Apart from this, the environment of the overhead line is mainly agricultural and characterised by small, isolated patches of forest. On longer sections, multiple 110-kV overhead lines run in parallel to or in the immediate vicinity of the overhead line. These lines are owned by different regional system operators as well as DB Energie GmbH.

The planned objective of the project is to have the new line follow the existing route wherever this is permitted legally, technically and environmentally. Deviations from the current route can occur, for instance to increase the distance to populated areas or to reduce the existing impact on the environment.

Federal sector planning

In application of the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act (NABEG), 50Hertz first applies for federal sector planning. To this end, an application is drawn up as per §6 of the NABEG, in the scope of which many environmental and technical studies have already been performed. The objective of the federal sectoral planning is to determine an appropriate route corridor between the start and end point, having a width of 500 to 1,000 metres, prior to the subsequent planning approval proceedings.

Eastern section

For the eastern section between Röhrsdorf and Weida, 50Hertz submitted an application for federal sector planning under §6 NABEG on 19 December 2016. The Federal Network Agency then sent invitations for the public project conference on 21 February 2017 in Altenburg. On 12 April 2017, the Federal Network Agency published the survey scope.

Western section

For the western section between the substations Weida and Remptendorf, 50Hertz submitted an application for federal sector planning on 26 September 2016. On 22 November 2016, the Federal Network Agency held a public project conference to determine the survey scope. Based on this hearing, the Federal Network Agency fixed the survey scope for this line section on 19 December 2016. The survey scope was also published.

Early public participation

Before the submission of the application, 50Hertz gathered information from local administrations and competent authorities as well as local residents in the scope of many meetings held for the purpose of early public participation. This information was already taken into account when drawing up the application documents.

The documents related to the application for federal sector planning are available online for both sections of the project. They are either accessible as digital planning file via an online reader or alternatively as PDF files. By clicking on either of the section corresponding links below you will access the respective project server.